U.S. Open victory the pinnacle of Nadal's unbelievable comeback year

Thanks to David for passing this along. Charlie Rose also did a great interview with Nadal HERE.

NEW YORK -- Rafa fell. This was at his shakiest moment Monday night, before another epic comeback would make it just a funny memory, before the tears and his admission that the year had been "the most emotional one in my career," before the queen of Spain sighed, "Bueno" at the sight of him and kissed both his cheeks. But you couldn't envision any of that, not then. Rafael Nadal fell, and suddenly all of it -- the knee, the career, the man -- seemed very fragile. It felt like disaster at hand.

This was late in the third set of the U.S. Open final, things knotted at a set apiece, 4-4, but tilting Novak Djokovic's way, fast. The world No. 1 had been gradually peeling back the layers on Nadal's game, denting him with haymaker groundstrokes and crafty pace, and now with Nadal serving all momentum had shifted the Serb's way. A classic drop-and-lob combo made it 0-15 and then, just as another marathon rally began to take shape, Djokovic's tricky forehand sent him backpedaling behind the baseline.

And then came a sight that you could spend years on the pro tour and never see. Nadal's footwork is legendary, a key to his remarkable career, yet now his right foot snagged on the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium and he went down slow and fast, body parts flailing, bit by awkward bit. He looked like a man shoved hard onto a patch of ice.

"I never," Nadal said later, "thought I would fall down like this."

Still, there were two unusual things about his reaction: Instead of cushioning his fall, Nadal kept his eye on the ball and kept trying to swing. Over in Djokovic's box, his new coaching consultant, Wojtek Fibak, couldn't believe it.

"I was admiring him," said Fibak, the one-time mentor of Ivan Lendl. "Because he was falling in six or seven stages, and each stage he tried to hit the ball. He tried then ... and tried then ... and tried then ... and he still tried."

It's true. "Because until the last moment," Nadal said, "I thought that I will hit the ball."

And then he sprang back up and pointed for a towel, betraying not even a hint of embarrassment. If you're looking for a reason why Nadal, not Djokovic, is this year's U.S. Open champion, and the man who in essence if not yet fact is now considered No. 1, that will serve just fine. No matter the surface, the score or the state of his aching knees, the 27-year old Majorcan always thinks that he can hit the ball.

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That such toughness and resiliency off-court should dovetail with his playing style makes sense, of course, but it doesn't answer the mystery at the heart of Nadal's career. With 13 major titles, he now trails only Roger Federer and Pete Sampras on the all-time list; yet nothing in his background seems to answer for his relentless nature. He was raised in comfort and calm on an island in the Mediterranean, surrounded by loving family. Even the "intense" practice sessions meted out early by his coach and uncle, Toni, don't seem enough to create someone who, as Jimmy Connors famously put it, "plays like he's broke."

But, then, maybe his is too dark a read. It takes a special magic to play so bullying a style without being an actual bully, without leaving opponents unmanned, but Nadal has walked that line with admirable consistency. His on-court glower is a bit of a mask. He has few enemies.

"I'm in awe," Boris Becker said Monday. "I can't believe the attitude he brings to the court. He loves to be out there for three, four hours a day. He loves to be in difficult situations. He loves to be down and out. It comes from love. Amazing."